Hoop Hogs recruiting tracker: Arkansas head coach John Calipari active out of the gates

By Kevin McPherson

LITTLE ROCK — These are unprecedented times at Arkansas as living-coaching-legend John Calipari left blueblood Kentucky to take over the Razorbacks men’s basketball program, which for the first time ever finds itself with ZERO scholarship players while putting its brand new Naismith Hall of Fame hire immediately on the clock as roster-fixer-in-chief.

“You can say rebuild, there may not be a roster,” Calipari said during his first press conference as Arkansas’ head coach on Wednesday. “I’ve got to put a roster together. No, you laugh, but that’s not funny. I just met with the team. There were three guys in there and they were in the portal. We’ve got work to do and the only thing that I want to tell you is I’m not that guy that has a magic wand. That’s not who I am. I’m the grinder that comes everyday. When you watch my team from the beginning to the end of the year, you say ‘Wow, they got better.’ Individual players got better. They become a better team to put them in the best position.”

The good news is Calipari is arguably the greatest recruiter in the history of college basketball, and as scary as the absence of at least one single building block on the roster is there are numerous reasons to be encouraged that Calipari can build a winning team in year one.

“It’s exciting times for us because this guy is as big as it gets in basketball, college basketball, even summer basketball,” said Bill Ingram, chairman of the Arkansas Hawks grassroots program that competes in the spring and summer on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. “Great connections everywhere, great eye for talent, so I see everything about this — him coming to Arkansas and us getting someone like this — as a plus.”

Let’s run through just a few of the early recruiting possibilities for Arkansas’ upcoming 2024-25 roster strictly based on Calipari’s new transfer portal contacts since coming to Arkansas, his Kentucky committed / signed high school players, Kentucky’s current transfer-portal entries, and some of Arkansas’ transfer-portal entries (the following is NOT a list of predicted outcomes, and it does NOT include: a] players from either school thought to be headed to the NBA Draft or b] players from either school not already in the transfer portal) …

New transfer portal contacts since Calipari took over at Arkansas

1. Dre Davis (6-6 wing, Seton Hall) … 15.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 bpg, 49.2% FGs, 35.0 3FGs, 84.0 FTs … played two seasons at Louisville before transferring and playing two seasons at Seton Hall … one season of remaining playing eligibility

Six class of 2024 high school players who either signed or committed to Cal / Kentucky

1. Jayden Quaintance (6-9 forward / center, Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.) is ranked No. 14 / 5-star prospect on ESPN’s national Top 100 list of prospects for the class of 2024 … McDonald’s All American … signed with Kentucky in the early November period … requested a release from his signed NLOI on Wednesday, April 11 … thought to be an impact player as a college freshman, will be projected to be a future NBA draft pick … only 17-years-old so might not be NBA Draft eligible until 2026 (so potentially two years in college).

2. Johnual “Boogie” Fland (6-2 guard, Archbishop Stepinac High School in New York) is ranked No. 15 / 5-star prospect on ESPN’s national Top 100 list of prospects for the class of 2024 … McDonald’s All American … signed with Kentucky in the early November period … would need to request a release from his signed NLOI … thought to be an impact player as a college freshman.

3. Karter Knox (6-5 wingd, Overtime Elite Academy in Atlanta) is ranked No. 24 / 4-star prospect on ESPN’s national Top 100 list of prospects for the class of 2024 … McDonald’s All American … was committed to Kentucky but since the Calipari departure has already decommitted … younger brother of former Kentucky star and NBA first-round lottery pick Kevin Knox … thought to be an impact player as a college freshman and will be projected future NBA draft pick.

4. Billy Richmond (6-6 wing / small forward, Memphis, Tenn.) is ranked No. 39 / 4-star prospect on ESPN’s national Top 100 list of prospects for the class of 2024 … committed to Kentucky in December 2023 … potential to be an impact player as a college freshman.

5. Somto Cyril (6-10 forward / center, Overtime Elite in Atlanta) is ranked No. 46 / 4-star prospect on ESPN’s national Top 100 list of prospects for the class of 2024 … signed with Kentucky in the early November period … has been released from his signed NLOI … some raw potential here, potential to be a role player as a college freshman.

6. Travis Perry (6-1 guard, Lyon County high school in Eddyville, Ky.) is ranked No. 71 / 4-star prospect on ESPN’s national Top 100 list of prospects for the class of 2024 … signed with Kentucky in the early November period … would need to request a release from his signed NLOI … potential to be a role player as a college freshman, very unlikely he’ll be recruited to Arkansas.

Kentucky players currently in the transfer portal

1. Aaron Bradshaw (7-1 sophomore-to-be, Roselle, NJ) is in portal and will also test the NBA Draft waters … three seasons of remaining playing eligibility … 4.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 13.8 mpg, 57.6% FGs, 4-of-14 from 3 for 28.6%, 56.8% FTs … had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assists in Kentucky’s 11-102 home win over Arkansas on March 2

2. Adou Thiero (6-8 wing, Leetsdale, Pa.) is in the transfer portal … three seasons of remaining playing eligibility … 7.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.1 apg, 49.2% FGs, 31.8% 3FGs, 80.0% FTs

Hoop Hogs in the transfer portal who might consider / be considered for retention

1. Khalif Battle (6-5 guard, senior) … one season of remaining playing eligibility … recently entered the portal after it was clear former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was off to USC … 14.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 40.6% FGs, 35.3% 3FGs, 87.3% FTs in ’23-24 … he had 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals in the Hogs’ 111-102 road loss to Kentucky in March

2. Tramon Mark (6-6 wing, senior) … one season of remaining playing eligibility … recently entered portal nearly coinciding with announcement that Calipari would take over the head coaching job at Arkansas … 16.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 48.0% FGs, 36.4% 3FGs, 80.4% FTs

3. Davonte “Devo” Davis (6-4 guard, Jacksonville native) … one season of remaining playing eligibility … career avgs. 8.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 42.3% FGs, 29.4% 3FGs, 73.2% FTs … one of the most impactful postseason players in Arkansas history … part of three career wins over Kentucky while at Arkansas

4. Layden Blocker (6-2 guard, Little Rock native) … three seasons of remaining playing eligibility … 3.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.0 spg, 13.4 mpg, 40/3% FGs, including 2-of-17 from 3 for 11.8%, 62.1% FTs